There but not back again: a godchild's Tale
by Weretiger Marduk
Summary: This is my characters adventure through Baldur's Gate, with a few minor twists. ABANDONED
1. The legend begins

_Where am I? Who am I?_

Strife opened his eyes, slowly, and stood up.

In his cage.

He snarled and called forth his magic, trying to tear the bars from their places.

_Strange_, he thought, _There is more in me to draw on._

He looked up as he heard footsteps, and sensed a fear within himself.

_Why am I afraid? With this kind of power, what am I afraid of?_

A man approached, Tall, with dark hair and merciless eyes.

This, he knew, was the object of his fear.

"Ah. The child of Bhaal has awoken. It is time for more, experiments."

The mage fueled his spell triggers and launched a volley of spells Strife had never seen. They impacted him in his pathetic prison and agony after agony wrenched through his body, releasing unfelt and unknown power hidden deep inside him. The mage commented after each spell wove its way through his mind. Strife felt power flowing through his veins, more than he could readily comprehend through his current haze of pain. As something flashed behind his eyes, the world was suddenly transformed. The world around him darkened, as if seen through darkened glass. The mage, however, Stood out like a beacon in crimson light. A golem rounded a nearby corner, it, too shone, but not as bright as the mage.

_What's happening? What is he doing to me?_

The golem's gravelly voice cut through his fog of thought, bringing him to full consciousness "More intruders have entered the complex, Master."

The mages reply was agitated. "They act sooner than we had anticipated. No matter; they will prove only a slight delay."

The golem returned to wherever he came from and the mage teleported away.

Now that he was alone, Strife could experiment with his newfound sight and power. He sat down and began looking at everything, all the while focusing on the lock, willing it to open as he had been taught. He couldn't budge it.

He didn't have long. A few minutes after the mages departure he heard footsteps. Sitting there, he realized he wouldn't be able to protect himself, much less attack, if whoever it was decided he was a threat. He needn't have worried. A woman, with shoulder-length purple hair entered, looked furtively about, and moved swiftly but stealthily to his cell. He felt a stir of hope within himself. Apparently he knew this woman. She quickly unlocked with a lockpick and stowing it with a flick of her wrist, prodded his shoulder.

"get up, c'mon, get up you! We have to get out of here"

"Who…Who are you"

She nodded sympathetically. "He messed with your head, too, huh"

From the brief discussion that followed, he learned he was Strife, She was Imoen, and there was equipment and companions nearby. He assisted himself and the others, tricking the male (whose name appeared to be Minsc) and his hamster companion into freeing himself with his unrivaled strength at the loss of his 'witch', and freeing the woman(her name was Jaheira) with a key found amongst their equipment. The woman said she would follow him, and hoped to find her husband, Khalid, along the way. He formed them into a group by instinct, and, suddenly coming to the realization he was one of the faithful, prayed a silent prayer to the god of luck for their journey ahead.

They'd need it.


	2. Where to begin again

Strife enveloped the last thief in a pillar of fire, clearing the way for his party.

"Let's get the heck out of here!" Grabbing Jaheira around the waist, he half-dragged, half-carried her to the doorway. Ahead he could hear the sound of a fight dying out. _And I'm almost out of spells,_ he thought dryly. Of all of them, Imoen was in the best shape, having made use of her sneaking abilities and spells. He pushed through the door, Jaheira trying to stand on her own, but he would have none of it. "You're injured, and the pack is only as fast as the slowest wolf," he told her, hoping to touch upon her druid's sensibilities. "You're right, of course," she sighed, allowing him to carry her. "lead on." _Strange,_ he thought, _I would never be able to carry her before, and now I feel like I'm as strong as Minsc. _ As they broke the surface, a massive explosion blasted shut the tunnel they'd just come through.

They stood up and dusted themselves off, looking around. Then Minsc let out a growl. "The cursed fiend!" Imoen yelled and started casting spells at Irenicus, whose name they had learned from his dryad slaves. After a bit more spell-casting, several mages gated in and began trying to "apprehend" them. Irenicus slew them all. And just as Strife was preparing for a final wild surge, they gated out. With Imoen and Irenicus in tow. Cursing, Strife tried to hold a gate open, but the mages had simply moved too fast for even his skillful spellwork. "Quickly, we must find our taken friend!" Minsc said with a mighty cry. "Don't be foolish, Minsc. We're in no position to rescue anyone," Strife said with a hint of annoyance in his coal black eyes.

As the group had ventured forth into the labrynth that was Irenicus' home, he had undergone a startling transformation. His eyes had become completely black, and every rest had brought new power, both mystical and physical. He could match Minsc in small blade fighting with equal strength and could easily overpower Imoen and Jaheira both in contests of raw magic force. Only in the subtle weaving of spells could he be beaten, and Imoen still suspected him of letting her win.

"I agree with Strife," Jaheira said in her placid voice. A voice which always seemed to sooth Strife's nerves when he most needed it. "We need allies, rest, and a plan." "Let's head to the slums," Strife suggested, "I have a hunch we'll find what we need there."

_Whew! Well that's chapter 2. I'm still in school, so I don't have a lot of time, but I'll try to get some more content into chapter 3._


End file.
